Lost Memory, New Life
by CatsWithGuns
Summary: Jack hates his life in the city, but an accident leaves him without his memory and gives him the chance to start over. But will he want to stay at his new home, or follow his dream of traveling the world? This is my first fan-fic so R & R and enjoy!
1. 1: Raging River Warm Sun

"What a crappy day," I say to myself as I walk over to my motorcycle. "I'm _so sick_ of my life here.

My name is Jack; I live in the city and work on the docks.

I also hate my life. I have lived here all my life and have always wanted something better, which is why I work my butt off saving up so I can take off on my bike and never look back.

As I put away my things into the storage bags on the sides of the bike, I look up at the end of the docks and stare out at the ocean, wishing I could be somewhere else. Just riding my bike nowhere in particular going where the roads take me. The first signs of rain dot the ground around me snapping me out of my daydream; I sigh as I take my cap off and slide a pair of goggles over my eyes.

I start my bike and take off quickly hoping to beat the rain. I am not looking forward to being home, nothing waiting there but dirty dishes and noisy neighbors. I exit the docks to the long stretch of back road leading to the big barge that connects to the city, the sky growing menacingly black. I worked overtime again today, so I'm the only one on the road; that being said I hit the gas as it starts pouring buckets.

"Damn it! Give me a break!" I scream at the sky. As I pass onto the bridge visibility becomes zero. I wipe my goggles and decide I had better stop until the rain lightens. Unfortunately, I did not see the piece of scrap metal that fell off the hauling truck from this evening's shipment sitting in the middle of the road. My front tire explodes as I run over it, and before I can realize what has happened, I am sent flying over the barge railing into the river below.

There wasn't even enough time for me to process a thought before I made impact.

As I slam into the river below I'm kept under the surface by the raging current and I fight desperately to keep my head above water. I break the surface coughing and sputtering and clutch on to an outcropping boulder. The current tears me away before I can get a decent grip and pulls me along again slamming my head into one of the concrete support pillars of the barge.

My last thought before losing consciousness was "_of all the days to not have my helmet…_"

My vision goes black as I surrender myself to the pull of the current.

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"_Hey! Hey buddy you all right?_" I hear a voice say from somewhere outside of the darkness in my mind.

"_How did you get here?_" I felt someone move me and I manage to crack my eyes only to have the bright summer sun blind me and make my head pound.

"Oh Goddess, you're bleeding bad, Kai! Help me get this guy to the clinic!"

"Where?" Was all I managed to slur as the sun beats down on the stranger and myself.

"You're in Mineral Town," the voice says, "hold on were getting you some help."

The last thing I remember before slipping back into the darkness was the gentle lapping of the waves on my legs and the warmth of the sun on my skin.


	2. 2: Awaking to Forgetfullness

_It is pitch black as I walk along, I do not know where I am or how I got here, in fact; I cannot remember anything at all. I walk through the darkness trying to remember and as I walk, I raise my head to look up; I see a point of light in the distance. I begin running towards it but just as I almost reach it, I hear a great roar behind me. I turn around to see a monstrous wall of water crashing toward me. Just as it slams into me, I wake up._

I gasp and my eyes snap open as I bolt into sitting position drenched in sweat, still shaking from my dream. I catch my breath and look around, and find I have no idea where I am. Before I can think anything, I hear a man's voice beside me.

"Well, looks who's finally awake, we were starting to worry about you."

I look to my right and see a man who is average height, has black hair dark eyes, is dressed in a lab coat and has a stethoscope around his neck. He smiles warmly and walks up to the bed. Then it hits me.

"Am I in a hospital?"

His smile drops and he becomes serious. "Yes, you were found unconscious by Zack at the beach, he and Kai brought you to me two weeks ago."

"Two weeks?!" I shout hysterically, "What happened to me?"

"Well," the Doctor said, "I was hoping you could tell me."

"What do you mean? Don't you know what's wrong with me?"

The Doctor smiles again "I know _what_ is wrong with you, I just don't know how you got to be like you are, I was hoping you could tell me."

"Well, at least tell me what's wrong with me, does it have something to do with how bad my head hurts?" I reach up to rub the left side of my head and feel bandages snuggly wrapped around, covering my newly discovered injury.

The Doctor grew even more serious "Your head is my biggest concern, I don't know what you did but you cracked your head very hard on something when your accident occurred. You were brought here with a serious concussion, I did all I could and left the rest up to your body to heal itself. You've been in a short coma but you are extremely lucky to be waking up."

"I guess so" I reply glumly.

"I need to run a few simple tests to make sure your brain is still functioning properly." The Doctor then asks me to follow his finger and he shines the light in my eyes. Those went fine, but then he started asking the questions, you know; "where am I from, what is my name," stuff like that.

I open my mouth to answer, but my mind pulls a blank. I struggle to remember but nothing comes to me. I begin to panic as the Doctor gets a grim look on his face and says.

"I was afraid of this…" he said quietly.

"Afraid of what?" I ask, though I think I already know the answer.

He takes a deep breath and says, "Your concussion has given you amnesia."


	3. Plans

_**Author's note: Arrrrgggghhh!! I'm sorry I took so long updating this! I've actually been busy this summer, but I promise I'll update on a more regular basis now. Is anybody actually reading this? If you are read & review please, it kind of hurt my feelings nobody did it for the first two chapters**_.=(

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"What do you mean amnesia?" Jack asked looking worried.

The Doctor tilted his head and closed his eyes, thinking of how best to answer him. "Well, considering the seriousness of your head injury when you were found and brought here, it's not all that surprising that you can't remember anything. You were running a fever and we've given you antibiotics to keep infection away, your outside wounds have healed nicely but it will take much longer for you to recover your memories."

Jack's eyes widened in panic. "How long are we talking, weeks, months, years?"

"Everyone is different-medically speaking- so we all recover at different rates. We'll do all we can to jog your memory and hope for the best. But don't worry; we'll work for as long as it takes, months or years we'll keep going till you remember everything. Once you start moving around and become active again, we'll work on it. For now you just need to rest and get your energy back."

Jack brightened a little and said; "I guess so…" he was about to say something else but was interrupted by a quiet voice behind the Doctor.

"I have his medicine ready Doctor." The voice belonged to a girl, a very pretty one at that. Jack could only sit and stare at this girl he assumed to be the nurse. She had short, light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and was of medium height. She wore a light blue dress with a frilly white apron over it. Jack continued to stare but looked away embarrassed when the girl's cheeks started growing red.

The Doctor smiled and introduced them. "This is Elli my nurse-confirming Jack's earlier assumption- if you ever need anything, just ask her." Jack looked at Elli again, she smiled warmly and nodded her head.

"I guess since your awake you can take your medicine on your own now, here." She handed him a clear plastic cup with two white pills in it. "To help you sleep" she said as he chased the pills down with the glass of water next to his bed.

The Doctor gave a small smile and said "We'll leave you to sleep for now, but I'll check on you in the morning and see if we can't get you moving around."

"Sounds good to me" Jack said a bit relieved, and let out a yawn.

"Good night." The Doctor and Elli said as they exited the room. The Doctor flipped the light switch as Jack settled under the covers.

"Elli" he said quietly eyes drooping as his medicine took effect, "pretty name…. for a pretty… girl."

His eyes closed as he was wrapped in a deep dreamless sleep.

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Jubilations, another chapter down! I wasn't sure how to start this chapter but I got going as I thought up dialogue. So if you don't like it R & R and tell me what I need to work on! Chapter 4 coming soon.

- CatsWithGuns. (By the way, I changed my username if anyone was confused.)


	4. Cleaning up

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. (It would be super awesome if I did though.)

**Chapter 4: Cleaning up.**

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Jack woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and anxious to get to work.

He slid out of bed and stood on shaky uncertain legs. He walked the length of his room a couple of times trying to get the hang of moving around again. As he paced back to his bed for the third time the Doctor opened the door and raised his dark eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm surprised to see you up so early, much less moving around. How long have you been awake?"

"Just a few minutes," Jack said "I thought I'd just stretch my legs while I was waiting."

"That's fine, so how do you feel?" the Doctor asked.

Jack grinned and said "Great! I feel rested and my head doesn't hurt. But I think I could go for a shower."

The Doctor laughed and said "I thought you might say that, we have a bathroom upstairs ready for you. "There is also a razor and shaving cream if you feel you need it."

Jack brought his hand to his cheek and found a fair amount of stubble growing on his face. "Thanks, I get the feeling I was never one for facial hair." His sudden self-reminder of the amnesia brought him down from his good mood. The Doctor must have sensed this and said,

"Well let's just hurry and get you back there, I know once you're all clean you'll feel a lot better." He put a hand on Jack's back and led him out the door of his room just as Elli was about to enter.

"Oh!" She said surprised, "I was just bringing you some clothes to wear, I hope they fit." Jack looked down and noticed the bundle in her arms.

Jack's face turned red and managed to stutter, "Th- thanks" as he took the clothes from Elli.

"They're some of my old clothes," the Doctor said, "You look about the same size as me so hopefully they'll fit till we can find you something more suitable."

"I appreciate it." Jack looked at the clothes and thought for a second "but what about the stuff I was wearing when you found me?"

"You're clothes were torn beyond repair so we just trashed them. We did look for a wallet, but you didn't have one on you, you must have lost it or not even had it with you the day of your accident." He gave Jack an apologetic look and shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh," was all Jack could respond with. "So, about that shower…"

"Right, follow me!" The Doctor said and started out the door.

Jack enjoyed the change of scenery as he walked, bare feet squeaking across the floor. The lobby was rather plain; the tiles were a light blue, brightening the room under its fluorescent lighting. It had two red couches positioned on the far left wall with a tall leafy plant between them. Up front was a well-used reception desk, its top faded and smooth with papers scattered hodge-podge across the surface. _"That must be where Elli works,"_ he thought as they passed by.

Through an open door on the right side of the room he saw what must have been the Doctor's office; it had a big desk and one of those poofy office chairs behind it that are comfortable to work or relax in.

They walked up the stairs, located in the top-most left corner of the lobby. The Doctor led him to the bathroom and said, "Take your time, it's Wednesday so the Clinic is closed and that means we'll be around all day. After you've cleaned up Elli will take you around town to meet everyone."

"Sounds good." Jack said, the Doctor nodded and closed the door. Jack locked it then set the clothes down on the chair adjacent to him. He stripped down and turned the shower on till the water was steaming. He stepped in and sighed at how good it felt to just let the hot water roll down his back easing the tension in his muscles. After he finished he turned off the water, stepped out and toweled himself dry.

He walked over to the mirror wiped the steam off and saw his reflection. He stared at it for a long time trying to recall anything about himself. The mirror showed he had brown eyes and dark brown hair that was shaggy from not being trimmed back in a while. The two spiky locks of hair that comprised his bangs fell in front of his eyes; he huffed in irritation and smoothed them back. He picked up the shaving cream, lathered it on his face and began to shave.

When he finished he grabbed the clothes from the chair. He slid on the boxers and dark blue jeans. Next was a plain black shirt, some cushy socks and finally a pair of Converses. He smiled when he put the shoes on thinking that the Doctor didn't seem like the kind of person to even own shoes like these. He gave himself a once over in the mirror saying "Not bad" while smiling at his handsome, clean-shaven reflection.

He exited the bathroom and walked downstairs to find Elli behind the desk. Elli looked up as he came down the stairs. When he came into full view, her jaw dropped. Jack strolled down the stairs and noticed Elli staring at him, mouth agape. Jack saw this and started to chuckle.

She finally realized what she was doing snapped her mouth shut and blushed a deep red. She jumped up to say something but slammed her knee on the desk, saying a few choice words in the process. She rubbed her knee for a moment then said, "So everything fits good?"

"Perfect." He replied still chortling.

Elli gave him a dirty look and said, "I have one more thing for you." Jack gave her a questioning look as she reached into her desk drawer and pulled something out.

It was a pair of goggles. The sight of them seemed to spark a tiny flame in the back of Jack's mind.

"These were hanging from your neck when we found you, I thought you might want them." She handed them to Jack who stared at them trying to make that spark in his mind grow to something bigger. When nothing happened he nodded his thanks and began to put them on. As he was sliding them onto his forehead from the corner of his eye he saw a small line of text on the inside strap that said: _"If lost return to Jack Farmer."_

Jack froze for a moment and Elli asked him "What is it?" his eyes got big and he shouted "I REMEMBER MY NAME!!!"

Elli stepped back in surprise from the sudden outburst as the Doctor ran out and said "What?! What's happening?" Jack gave a big grin and said,

"My name is Jack Farmer!"

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_**What a way to end the chapter! At least now in the next one he'll have a name to give to the other villagers! Sorry this one is so long but I wanted to put in some detail instead of having the entire chapter be dialogue. I also wanted it lead up to how he finds out his name. I sort of came up with the idea for it on the spot, so my Jack will wear goggles instead of a backwards cap. I enjoyed typing this chapter so R & R please, and keep a look out for chapter 5!**_

-CatsWithGuns .


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